Parker Brothers, claimed that Monopoly was originally created by a struggling American Charles Darrow, here is the official quote from Parker Brothers of that account:
'One evening in 1930 sat down at his kitchen table… and sketched out some of the street names of Atlantic City on the round piece of oilcloth that covered the table. As he devised the game board, pieces, play money and other equipment, he taught his wife and a circle of friends the game that would eventually make him a world traveller, gentleman farmer and millionaire.’
...And the Personal recollection of the invention of Monopoly by Charles Darrow himself:
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Before Parker Brothers however, Charles Darrow had struggled to get anyone to take his game to production, even Parker Brothers were doubtful of the game at first (Telling Darrow there was 52 fundamental flaws within the game, 2 of which were no objective and it took to long to play) until a family friend of the owners told them of how all their friend were playing the game, it was from there that they then took the board game up, and a deal struck with Charles Darrow.
A month later 20,000 copies were been produced a week. A true all American dream come true.  Lizzie J. Magie Monopoly was in fact the creation of a Georgist Lizzie J. Magie (from Arden, Pennsylvania) who had patented what she called 'The Landlord's Game' with the help of her friends. - Magie was a huge fan of the Single tax reformer Henry George. The game was purposed as a way to explain how Henry George's political system would work in real life. 
Already in the very first edition, Lizzie had already created Jail, Public park, Go to Jail. This is in 1904. In this version you go around 5 times and the person who has the most money wins. Much simpler and more fun than the infinite amount that happens with the rules now.
However these boards weren't distributed. They were spread by word of mouth within the community in Arden. Maggie didn't try and get the game sold till later, and by then Darrow already had his version out. Parker brothers (Who also distributed Lizzie's Landlord's game) pulled all the games from the shelves to make way for monopoly.
 "There are those who argue that it may be a dangerous thing to teach children how they may thus get the advantage of their fellows, but let me tell you there are no fairer-minded beings in the world than our own little American children. Watch them in their play and see how quick they are, should any one of their number attempt to cheat or take undue advantage of another, to cry, ‘No fair!’ And who has not heard almost every little girl say, ‘I won’t play if you don’t play fair.’ Let the children once see clearly the gross injustice of our present land system and when they grow up, if they are allowed to develop naturally, the evil will soon be remedied.”
Lizzie Magie’s 1902 commentary on 'The Landlords’ Game'
It was a huge hit within the community and the game was passed along to each other, especially in this community of Henry George supporters in Arden. Economists used the game to teach of Single taxation in the University of Pennsylvania in 1906. Students of his class reported of how if people wanted to play the game they simply created their own board using cloth pieces.
As the students and single taxers played the game, they began a process ... of altering the rules. The main change was that instead of merely paying rent when landing on a property block, the players could hold an auction to buy it. They also made their own game boards so that they could replace the properties designated by Lizzie Maggie with properties in their own cities and states; this made playing more realistic. As they drew or painted their own boards, usually on linen or oil cloth, they change the title "Landlord's Game" to "Auction Monopoly" and then just "Monopoly".Burton H. Wolfes in "The Monopolization of Monopoly" Do you want to be wealthy? Play the Landlord’s Game and learn how. Easily learned and enjoyed at the first sitting. But repeated playing develops the highest skill and foresight. A study in economics. A thorough understanding of the mysteries of “political economy” comes with playing The Landlord’s Game and Prosperity. The Landlord’s Game and Prosperity presents familiar every-day problems in a most entertaining way. The Landlord’s Game shows why our national housekeeping has gone wrong and Prosperity Game shows how to start it right and keep it going right. Take the first comment for example, Learn how to live Wealthy or Happily - and find out how. It's advertised to as a guide to living. It's a tool for learning and teaching and that's a great fundamental all the while attempting to be a great game. Additionally, the fact that you're playing two different games on one board reinforces the social commentary it's trying to get across. Landlords game (be wealthy) - Prosperity (be happy living on their land). It's dual layered, but the message it's getting across is the same.
So, how did Darrow get his hands on the game to begin with? Well, in Atlantic city, Auction Monopoly was rather popular in Atlantic City. A man named Charles Todd taught Esther Darrow the rules of the game who in turn gave them too Charles Darrow. After he learned of the game he decided to make the game boards, he called his then Monopoly. These were made by hand with his son William and his wife. Once the game picked up, from him selling these copies he contacted a printing company to create the boards and cards for him on Cartonboard (Like cereal boxes basically.)
 Since then they decided to license out the game to other companies to produce, the most famous publisher of all would be Waddingtons. 
Waddington's (based in the UK, Leeds.) were granted licensing rights for Europe and the rest of the Commonwealth. Waddington's and Parker Brother's were later swallowed up by Hasbro who now owns the Monopoly brand and is the single largest producer in Game boards.
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http://www.henrygeorge.org/dodson_on_monopoly.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_George
http://lvtfan.typepad.com/lvtfans_blog/2011/01/lizzie-magie-1902-commentary-the-landlords-game.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/3795784/Toy-stories-Combination-of-luck-and-skill-that-gave-birth-to-some-of-our-favourite-games.html
http://nhpr.org/post/truly-shocking-history-monopoly
http://monopoly.wikia.com/wiki/Monopoly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_board_game_Monopoly
http://landlordsgame.info/articles/berks2boardwalk.html
http://www.studiogiochi.com/p/Modena-2011-Play.html
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